Romans awoke to a very frigid six degrees on Monday morning, January 6th, with a chance of flurries later on Monday afternoon. The cold front pushed temperatures into the 20s as far south as Gainesville, Florida, while temperatures fell to zero in Hiawassee. The cold weather didn't last for very long, though, with highs warming up to the low fifties and lows in the mid-thirties by the middle of the week.
The Rome City Commission kicked off their first meeting of 1969 on Monday night--and by the time the meeting was over, Romans had a 4 mil tax increase to 38 mills, an almost 12% tax increase that took Rome City taxes up the maximum allowed by Georgia law. In addition, the city announced plans to re-evaluate all city properties, pointing out that a tax re-evaluation had not been done in almost fifteen years. With most values expected to increase significantly, this meant that Rome residents could expect even larger tax increases by the time the new bills came in. The city did say that, if the re-evaluation produced significantly more income than anticipated, they would consider reducing the 4 mill tax increase. (This tax increase included school system funding as well, since there was no separate school tax at this time.)
And no sooner was a tax increase announced than the Rome Board of Education announced plans to purchase classroom television sets for both East Rome and West Rome High School, as well as city elementary schools and junior high schools. Initial plans called for each high school school to receive a half-dozen televisions plus carts that would enable them to be rolled to classrooms when needed; a smaller number of sets would be allotted to each elementary school, but the city anticipated buying 75 sets and carts in total for a cost a $12,000. Savage TV and Electronics won the contract for the TV sets, and it was expected that all sets would be installed and ready for use by the start of the 1969-1970 school year. Superintendent Milton McDonald said that some schools would receive extra televisions because their local PTA groups were supplementing the tax money. Ideally, the city hoped that the PTA funding and the tax revenues would enable them to have one television set for every four teachers, although they admitted that they would probably be shooting for one TV for every five teachers to begin with.
West End and Elm Street both posted victories in Mite League basketball games held at the Boys Club. West End defeated Model 33-17, with Rickey Ramsey the top scorer at 15 points; Elm Street defeated Alto Park 47-12 with Brad Hatch the top scorer at 16 points.
Piggly Wiggly had Cudahy ham for 58¢ a pound, Lady Alice ice milk for 29¢ a half-gallon, and a five-pound bag of Colonial sugar for 38¢. Big Apple had whole fryers for 25¢ a pound, JFG coffee for 49¢ a pound, and bananas for a dime a pound. A&P had chuck roast for 39¢ a pound, strawberries for 33¢ a pint, and Jane Parker donuts for 25¢ a dozen. Kroger had center-cut pork chops for 89¢ a pound, large eggs for 55¢ a dozen, and Kroger gelatin for 7¢ a box. Couch's had lamb shoulder roast for 49¢ a pound, Gold Meal mayonnaise for 39¢ a quart, and tomatoes for 25¢ a pound.
The cinematic week began with The Impossible Years (starring David Niven) at the DeSoto Theatre, Bullitt (starring Steve McQueen) at the First Avenue, and Hell Fighters (starring John Wayne) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought Lady in Cement (starring Frank Sinatra) to the DeSoto, Don't Raise the Bridge—Lower the River (starring Jerry Lewis) to the First Avenue, and Wild in the Streets (starring Shelley Winters) to the West Rome Drive-In.
Marvin Gaye's grip on the number one slot on the Billboard charts continued for a sixth week with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Other top ten hits included "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations (#2); "Beautiful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited (#3); "Crimson & Clover" by Tommy James & The Shondells (#4); "Hooked on a Feeling" by BJ Thomas (#5); "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell (#6): "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder (#7); "Touch Me" by the Doors (#8); "Worst That Could Happen" by Brooklyn Bridge (#9); and"Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield (#10).
Led Zeppelin changed music history with the release of their first album this week in 1969. The album cemented Jimmy Page's role as one of rock's most influential and innovative guitarists, while Robert Plant's voice (described by Rolling Stone as "goosefart vocals") gave the band a sound quite unlike anything rock fans had heard before.
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